Vessel Orchestra

The Vessel Orchestra is a sound-based art installation created by British artist Oliver Beer. It is the first sound-oriented installation ever commissioned by the Met Breuer. The installation is composed of 32 objects from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Each object has a microphone placed in its hollow space in order to capture the natural sounds that each piece resonates. Beer chose each object for its unique pitch. For instance, a clay vase by Joan Miró resonates the musical note low F. The internal microphones, which do not touch the objects, are connected to a mixer, which is hooked up to a keyboard, therefore allowing a musician to "play" the objects, creating music. The installation was opened to the general public on July 2, 2019, and[1] was on display at the Met Breuer until August 11, 2019.[2] During the exhibit the installation played repeatedly a 20-minute loop of a composition by Beer. In addition, the instrument was played on Friday evenings during live music performances by guest musicians.[3] The installation includes two and a half octaves in a chromatic scale, from low C to high G.[1] It took Beer four years to create the installation. Some of the objects in the installation had never been on display in the museum before.[4]

List of works

Beer used the following objects in The Met's collection for Vessel Orchestra; works are listed as they appeared in the installation clockwise from the entrance.[5]

Note (SPN) Work Date Artist / Location Media Accession number
B3 Shiva vase 1973 Ettore Sottsass Ceramic 2017.204
C4 Vase 1986 Alessandro Mendini, Sinya Okayama Stainless steel 1988.241
F4 Trifoglio 1969 Enzo Mari Ceramic 1988.184.4
G♭4 Blue Mountain Horses 1984 Rudy Autio Stoneware with colored glazes 1998.534
A♭3 Scofield Thayer 1923, cast 1924 Gaston Lachaise Bronze, glass 1984.433.30
A3 Squared Up 1985 William Daley Stoneware 2000.527.1
D♭3 Rhyton in the shape of a bird ca. early 1st millennium B.C. Northwestern Iran Ceramic 59.95
A♭2 Mrs. Olin Levi Warner 1886–87, cast 1897–98 Olin Levi Warner Bronze 98.9.6
C3 Ewer 19th century Franchi and Son Electroformed copper, silver plated and gilt 73.8.52
D2, E♭2, D3 The Ming Sisters 2003 Betty Woodman Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer, paint 2003.413a–c
G♭2 Canaanite jar ca. 1500–1400 B.C. Levant Ceramic 2001.761.9
E2 Storage jar decorated with mountain goats ca. 3800–3700 B.C. Central Iran Ceramic, paint 59.52
D♭2 Pot 1975 Juan Hamilton Stoneware 1978.496.2
G2 Vessel in form of female(?) figure ca. 7th–6th century B.C. Iran, Luristan, Chekka Sabz Ceramic 43.89.3
C2 Vase 1901 Louis Majorelle Porcelain 2013.245.5
B♭3 Guild vessel 19th century Germany Pewter 1974.28.107
A2 Axe Vessel 1986 Gordon Baldwin Earthenware 1998.289
B♭2 Fish ca. 1947 Beatrice Wood Earthenware, lustered 47.126.2
F2 Vase 1942 Joan Miró, Josep Llorens Artigas Painted earthenware 1989.402
B2 The Virgin 1906, cast 1909 Andre O'Connor Bronze 18.38
E♭3 Vase with archaistic patterns Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong period (1736–95) China Porcelain with green glaze and gilding (Jingdezhen ware) 14.40.400
F3 Temple 7 1977 William Wyman Earthenware 1980.479
G♭3 Spouted jar ca. 9th–7th century B.C. Iran, Tepe Sialk Ceramic, paint 39.60.9
E3 Ewer 19th century Franchi and Son Electroformed copper, silver plated 73.8.8
D♭4 Cooking pot ca. late 8th–7th century B.C. Levant, Lachish (modern Tell ed-Duweil, Israel) Cermanic 34.126.43
D4 Jar with geometric designs ca. 5300–4300 B.C. Central Iran Ceramic, paint 60.61.3
G4 Vase with performance of dragon boat Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Kangxi period (1662–1722) China Porcelain painted with overglaze polychrome enamels (Jingdezhen ware) 14.40.83
E♭4 Vessel #1063 1990 June Schwarcz Electroplated copper foil, enamel 1995.439
G3 Vase ca. 1900–1910 Archibald Knox Pewter 1981.91
E4 Measure 1854–93 Carl Adolph Ferdinand Heidorn Pewter 1990.199.11
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References
  1. Smith, Steve (2019-07-10). "In Review: Oliver Beer, Vessel Orchestra". National Sawdust Log. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
  2. Walls, Seth Colter (2019-07-16). "He Turned the Met Museum's Collection Into an Orchestra". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
  3. Schaefer, John (2019-07-12). "The Secret Sound Of The Vessel Orchestra". WNYC. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
  4. Gopnik, Adam (2019-08-12). "Making Music from the Met's Forgotten Treasures". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
  5. Oliver Beer: Vessel Orchestra (Exhibition guide). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2019. OCLC 1109395603.

Further reading
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